


The Dragon of Racing

by FireAwayy



Series: Pendragon Racing [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sports, Arthur is a giant sap, F/M, Get it?, Gwaine is blushing because hello percy, Horses, Lance is off bugging Gwen, Leon is again long suffering, Lots of Cursing, M/M, Merlin is a BAMF, You've been warned, hay, race horses, seriously poor leon, the guy are gonna roll in the hay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-26
Updated: 2013-08-26
Packaged: 2017-12-24 18:27:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/943217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireAwayy/pseuds/FireAwayy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin rides the infamous Kilgarrah and Arthur comes face to face with his growing feelings for the blue eyed jockey. Will the boys find happiness or will their race finish too soon?</p><p>Part 4 of Pendragon Racing</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dragon of Racing

**Author's Note:**

> HOLY COW! This was a pain in the ass to write because I was like "Ah fuck it just have sex!" and then I was like "NO! There needs to be romance and Arthur needs to be a knight in shining armor!" so guess which one won? Romance! But I promise happy fun times are coming. 
> 
> Again all of this is based off my personal experience growing up around these amazing animals and race tracks in general so I tried to make this as accurate as possible. 
> 
> For all my readers who have been with me from the beginning: please have a cookie! You people are lovely and the reason I write and you're perfect and wonderful let me hug you!
> 
> And for my new readers...hello! Nice to meet you. Please, PLEASE leave me a note! Tell me what you're thinking! Need someone to talk to? Shoot me a note. Let's be friends. 
> 
> This was unbeta'd so any mistakes are mine. As always, comment!!

Merlin rolled out of bed, arm flinging for his phone which was blaring She’s my Cherrypie as his alarm. The LED screen read 4:30 am and he sighed as his feet touched the cold linoleum. He shivered a bit and turned off one of his 3 floor fans as he made his way into the bathroom. 

When he took the job at Pendragon Racing it came with a small apartment on grounds. The apartment was two spaces: a main room with his bed and a small kitchenette and a bathroom. The place was small, hot, and often smelled like beef jerky but it was his first place and he was fond of the little ‘shack’. 

As Merlin brushed his teeth, eye lids at half-mast as he sleepily wondered what he was going to do with the crazy that was his hair when a banging began to his left. He grinned around the toothbrush. Gwaine was his neighbor and as such often felt the need to make sure Merlin was awake. All the time. 

Merlin banged back and finished brushing his teeth then pulled on a pair of jeans and a red PR polo shirt, red PR hat, and his worn out boots. The sun was just barely tickling the horizon when he stepped outside and made the 20 foot commute to the barn. Merlin was the first in the barn and he took a moment to soak it in. 

Each horses head was sticking out of their stalls snorting and grunting as they waited for breakfast. Freya let out a shrill whinny followed by Killy who couldn’t stand another horse irritating the humans. Merlin laughed and moved to the sleek mare. Her nose lifted and sought his hand, nostrils snuffling along to see if he had a treat of some kind. Merlin laughed and stroked along the feminine contours of her face, nails lightly scratching as she shoved against him. 

In the next stall Killy snorted and shrieked out his displeasure.

“Oh hush you old dragon.” Merlin scolded, but there was a smile on his face as he moved to stroke the geldings face. Killy’s nostrils curled in disgust and he shoved his head a little harder at Merlin. 

“Ok ok I get it. Food first cuddles later.” 

By the time Merlin made it to the feed room Gwaine was there along with Percy. The two were laughing and pushing around at each other.

Gwaine was blushing.

GWAINE WAS BLUSHING.

Merlin pulled out his phone and did the only thing he could as a best friend—record it for later mocking. 

Merlin, being generally awesome, gave them a few more minutes to themselves before traipsing in and helping them get the food ready. 

“Merls have you seen the board?” Percy asked with a grin lighting up his face. Percy was referring to the white board which had each horses daily schedule on it—whether they were seeing the vet, farrier, racing, or being exercised. Anything the barn staff needed to know was on that board. Gwaine occasionally drew naughty pictures on it just to see Leon get flustered and angry and Lance blush like crazy. 

“Haven’t checked it yet.” Merlin replied. 

Gwaine and Percy shared a delight glance and high fived. “That means we get to tell you.” 

Gwaine placed his hands on Merlin’s shoulders and looked deep into his blue eyes. “Merlin…you’re exercising Killy today.”

Merlin blinked and felt a hot surge of excitement coil in his belly. Killy was one of their best horses, he ran like he was flying over the ground. Everyone who saw him run said it looked like his feet were about to lift off. Killy may have had personality a mile long but he could run, which was why he was third in ranking for Pendragon Racing. 

But he was difficult. The jockeys who rode him complained he was like a freight train and he was notoriously hard to load in the gate. 

Merlin couldn’t have been happier. 

Trying to suppress a grin he helped Percy and Gwaine feed the horses, dumping grain into each one’s bucket and giving them a pat on the neck. Hay came next then the three began cleaning stalls. Monday’s were notoriously slow and Gwaine, Percy, and Merlin were the only ones working. 

Merlin couldn’t focus on the stalls and dropped his muck fork twice and ran the wheel barrow into Percy once. Percy just shrugged and grinned—the wheel barrow sustained more damage and now had a wobbly wheel. 

Leon and Lance wandered in as they finished the stalls, heads together while the strategized.

“Gwaine, get Killy ready. And for gods sakes don’t give him anymore apples. He’s getting fat.” Leon barked out, hands on a piece of paper in front of him he turned to Merlin. “Merlin come here.” 

Leon, Lance, and Merlin all crowded into the tack room. Leon fell back into a wheelie chair and swiveled around for a moment while he thought. 

“Merlin, you’re a damned good rider. You got horse sense, they love you…hell all of us love you.” Lance nodded in agreement and patted Merlin on the shoulder to show his support. 

“I don’t think I need to tell you we work for Uther. As much as we see Arthur he’s not the big cheese. Now Uther liked what you did with Freya, liked it a lot. Enough that he’s giving you the chance to prove yourself.” Leon and Lance shared a look. “Killy is our second hardest horse to ride, you know that. Start winning on him and we want to put you on Ex.” 

Merlin blinked, the knot of anxiety in his belly spinning out of control. “You’re joking.” 

Lance grinned and Leon shook his head. “No Merlin, this came from Arthur.” He held up the email. 

His anxiety dropped into dread and Merlin felt his disbelieving smile drop to a frown. “He only said that because he…” 

Leon rolled his eyes. “Because he’s warm for your form?” Lance spluttered and started laughing. The traitor. 

Merlin turned to him. “Hey I heard that cute Test Barn girl was looking for you today…Gwen was her name?”

Lance stiffened and left the room immediately, spluttering something about needing to see her about some test results.

Leon rolled his eyes. “Not nice Merlin. He’s going to pester that poor girl all day and get absolutely nothing done.” Leon sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Arthur may have approved the decision but I gave him my full support. Ex is coming back from an injury. We were lucky he recovered as well as he did…but another strain like that? He’s done. That’s not something I want to risk, and Arthur agrees with me. So,” Leon stood up and patted Merlin on the back. “ride Killy in his next race on Friday. Win with him, and then we’ll broach the subject with Uther. So Merlin, don’t fuck up.”

Merlin swallowed hard and nodded once. He was getting real tired of people telling him that. He turned and found Gwaine waiting outside for him, Killy tacked and ready to go. Killy shook his thick head and eyed Merlin as if to say ‘You’re going to ride me, Peasant?’ Merlin reached up to pet the giant of a horse and Killy curled his nostrils in disgust for a moment before leaning down and pushing his head against Merlin’s hand. Killy was notoriously grumpy and a little aggressive…but if you pet him just right he’d curl up in your lap. 

“Just a big kitten.” Merlin scolded gently placing a kiss on his nose. Merlin turned and grabbed his helmet, buckling the skull cap and sliding on a pair of chaps, the leather fitting snugly over his jeans and buckling around the waist. 

Gwaine gave him a wink as he led Killy outside and cupped his hands for Merlin’s knee, giving a quick countdown then lifting him up into the saddle. Killy stiffened and lurched forward, testing Gwaine’s hold and being an ass like usual. Merlin gathered up the reins and nodded. Lance stepped out with Leon and took the reins from Gwaine and led them toward the track. 

Leon walked beside Merlin, giving Killy a wide berth. “Careful with the whip Merlin, he gets angry and goes backwards a bit if he feels you hit him unjustly. When he goes to grab the bit let him, the more you fight the angrier he gets. Trust me, you don’t want to see Killy angry. Now, we’re just doing a bit of a run to see what you’ve got as a team. Hold him a bit then let him go a couple furlongs then pull him up.” 

Merlin nodded trying to keep the stress from his face. The white track railing came into focus and Lance released his hold on Killy, Merlin collecting the reins and lifting his feet into the teeny stirrups. With his knees settled comfortably by his chest he began a brisk trot around the track, warming the fiery horse up.

When it came time to go Killy knew. As the first marker came into view Killy tossed his head. Merlin simply relaxed his fingers around the reins and Killy was off. 

Like a speeding freight train hurtling down the tracks Killy began running. His ears flat against his head and his legs a blur beneath him he ate up the track. Merlin’s elbows snapped back in forth as they followed Killy’s neck. A soft sound could be heard as Killy’s hooves sifted through the dirt on the track, pushing off and pulling back as he threw his entire body weight into the run. 

Merlin was flying. If Freya was fast then Killy was a jet plane, the horse just ran. There was no tactic or skill but damn the horse had speed. Getting him to adjust was a battle each time, unlike the gentle movements that it took to adjust Freya. Merlin let out a whoop that the wind tore away spinning it off into silence. 

 

Leon leaned against the track rail eyeing his stopwatch. “Fast.”

Arthur pursed his lips. “Not as fast as Killy can go.” 

Leon shook his head. “No but it’s just a breeze, Arthur. You know Killy only runs as fast as he has to. He’s not interested unless there’s something to race against.” 

Arthur nodded and braced his hands on the white rail, his blue yes never leaving the horse and rider winging around the track. They were beautiful together. Horse and rider moving as one in a beautiful rhythm of perfection as Killy ran. Merlin was flawless. 

He really was. And it was a shock to Arthur—the sudden feeling of his heart being dropped kicked in his chest. His stomach coiling with anxiety because damn, Killy was going really fast and what if Merlin fell? Arthur had to resist the urge to scream. That was a novel sensation for Arthur because he’d grown up with jockeys and race horses and the inherent danger that came with racing. He’d never worried about anyone else before but the thought of Merlin lying on the track, face down in the dirt while Killy ran back to the barns had Arthurs breath hitching. 

Merlin pulled Killy to a halt and rode him to where Leon and Arthur were standing. He hopped off the large horse landing lightly. His face was wind swept, two bright spots of pink coloring his cheeks and his beautiful bow shaped lips turned up into a thousand watt smile. 

“That was fantastic!” Merlin exclaimed. 

Leon laughed and they began walking back towards the barn. Killy’s head was hanging low and his nostrils puffing as he cooled down from his run. 

“We need to talk about some things but I’m really pleased with that Merlin. Why don’t you help Gwaine cool Killy down and wrap him up, I’ll be there in a moment.” 

Merlin grinned at both Arthur and Leon before leaving. Arthur fought the urge to grab Merlin and kiss those rosy cheeks. Leon suffered enough without seeing that. 

“So what do you think, Leon? Is he ready for Excalibur?”

Leon ran his fingers through his ginger curls. “Does he have the talent? Yes. Definitely. But I don’t think he has the experience on a horse of that caliber. My suggestion would be to keep him on Freya and Killy a bit, let him get the mileage and then move him up.” 

Arthur nodded, ignoring the hot knife of disappointment coiling in his belly. He would love to see Merlin on Ex sooner rather than later but it would be another couple of weeks until Ex was sound enough to go back into training. Merlin had plenty of time to get the mileage he needed. Arthur took a moment to calm himself.  
“Train him Leon. You know he’s got the talent now give him the information and make him better.” 

Leon cocked his head at Arthur and grinned. “You’ve got it bad man.” And then he swaggered off, in a very Leon-esque way, towards the barn to terrify some grooms.  
Arthur walked back to the barn with a small smile ghosting across his lips. 

 

Leon was right and the thought not only terrified Arthur but…thrilled him a little bit too. He had always known he was gay—as a toddler he knew he liked the way men smelled over women, and as a teenager he liked the way a man’s muscles moved under a jersey or the bobbing of an adams apple as they laughed. 

But Merlin was unlike any man he had ever met. He was smart and witty, athletic buy not ridiculously so. He had a soft way with the horses and damn that was sexy. 

It was time Arthur did something about Merlin. 

Arthur entered the dark barn, sliding his sunglasses up into his hair as his eyes adjusted to the dim interior. Dust motes swirled around the air as the horses moved around their stalls. Killy was being wrapped, Merlin bent over and running thick wet poultice down his tendons. His face was serene—totally focused on his task. Killy, long used to the process, stood with his head low and his breathing deep and even as he let the relaxing clay mixture soak the soreness from his legs. Merlin’s hat was pushed up a bit to give him a better view, his hair wet with sweat and sticking up in every direction.

Arthur’s heart did a little thud flip thing as he walked over to the bent over brunette. His hands slid up into Merlin’s hair, the hat flopping off onto the ground. Merlin stiffened for a moment before catching a glimpse of golden hair and relaxing, turning to face Arthur. He was holding his hands up so he wouldn’t get the thick poultice on Arthur.  
“Arthur! What are you doing?” Merlin laughed as Arthur placed a soft kiss on Merlin’s pink pouty lips, deepening it. Merlin was pushed up against Killy who swished his tail in irritation but resumed his nap. Merlin was helpless as Arthur plundered his mouth, his hands held up to avoid getting poultice everywhere. 

Arthur pulled back. “God you’re perfect. Can I take you out sometime? No, fuck that. I want to take you out a thousand times. I want you to leave that smelly ball cap all over my place, your boots to track in dirt, and see you wake up with messy hair every morning.” 

Merlin blinked and searched Arthur’s face for deception but found none. “Are you asking me to be your boyfriend?”

Arthur chuckled. “Yes, Merlin I’m asking you to be my boyfriend.” 

From down the barn aisle a loud “YES!” could be heard. Arthur and Merlin both yelled, “Shut up Gwaine!” at the same time. Gwaine ducked back around the corner to snicker with Percy. 

“I’ll get him back.” Merlin vowed with his hands still in the air. 

Arthur smiled and kissed Merlin’s nosed. “I would be disappointed if you didn’t.” 

Merlin poked Arthur’s cheek and smudged poultice all over it. “So, your place or mine tonight?” Merlin smirked and quirked an eyebrow.

Arthur returned the wicked grin. “I’m thinking…the hay barn for a good roll in the hay!” 

Merlin rolled his eyes and smudged some more poultice all over his face. “You ridiculous dork.” 

Arthur leaned forward and kissed Merlin’s cheek, smudging poultice all over Merlin’s lips and face. “But I’m all yours.”


End file.
